Bearden, Arkansas
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Union Township. It lies in ZIP code area 71720. The Survey maps it on the Bearden quadrangle. 776 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 240 feet above sea level.
On record in Bearden
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 2 records
Bearden Waterworkslisted 2006- Ouachita County Training Schoollisted 2023
Population over time
3 figuresBearden fell from 1,125 to 776 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,125 | |
| 2010 | 966 | -159 (-14%) |
| 2020 | 776 | -190 (-20%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1903 USGS Camden quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Bearden quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Bearden quadrangle1:62500
- 1986 USGS Camden quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
174 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 174 fires within 5 miles of Bearden between 1997 and 2020, burning about 1,603 acres in total. 16 started naturally. 52 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 52 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 38 |
| Debris and open burning | 38 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 19 |
| Natural | 16 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 September 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | 14 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | 40 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 32 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 32 workings within 5 miles of Bearden: 24 past producers, 5 unknowns, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearden-Holly Springs Mine | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Fairchild Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Millville Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Co Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
35 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bearden in 35 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 18 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 2 tornado, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | $200,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Some of the trees fell on houses. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | $25,000 | A high-voltage power line was blown down. Two homes were evacuated and a two-block area was closed as a precaution. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | $15,000 | Eight power poles were blown down and there was some tree damage off U.S. Highway 79 southwest of Bearden. |
| April 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | $5,000 | Windows were blown out of a house by the winds. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | $2,000 | A large tree was down across Arkansas Highway 203. |
| May 2010 | Flash Flood | Bearden | $100 | Street flooding was reported in Bearden. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | Numerous trees fell across northern and northeastern Ouachita County. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Bearden | - | Ping pong ball size hail was noted in Bearden on social media. |
| June 2016 | Flash Flood | Bearden | - | Flash flooding was reported near the Bank of Bearden and the City Hall Area. |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | Trees were blown down northeast of Bearden. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | Thunderstorm winds downed power lines at Bearden. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | A few trees downed. |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Bearden | - | A weak tornado was spawned in northern Ouachita County about 3.8 miles west-southwest of Bearden. The tornado peeled some tin from the roof of a garage, damaged a mobile home, and downed some trees. A couple of the fallen trees knocked over power poles. The tornado dissipated roughly 1.8 miles west-southwest of Bearden. |
| December 2002 | Tornado (F0) | Bearden | - | A weak tornado (F0) touched down 2.7 miles west-southwest of Bearden and tracked to the northeast for 5.1 miles before lifting. The only damage noted along the path of the tornado were some trees that were snapped off and minor damage to the tin roof of a barn. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | Severe thunderstorm winds downed trees and damaged several large signs in Bearden. |
| May 2010 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| March 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| March 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| March 2001 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| October 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| September 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
| February 1996 | Hail | Bearden | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bests (historical) | 0.8 miles | 16 | |
| Millville | 2.3 miles | 16 | |
| Salem | 3.2 miles | 16 | |
| Eagle Mills | 5.5 miles | 16 | |
| Shumaker | 6.9 miles | 16 | |
| Onalaska (historical) | 7.6 miles | 16 | |
| Lilley (historical) | 7.7 miles | 16 | |
| Vanduzer | 9.7 miles | 15 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Bearden | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79651 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 46250. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.








